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cheese4000's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Manson does a remarkable job of painting the political and cultural landscape of America in the 60s. I enjoyed the way Guinn oscillated between the Family and the Beach Boys, presidential elections, the Vietnam War, everything. I learned more about record labels and protests than I expected to, and I’m rather pleased that I did—Guinn’s tangents are interesting in their own right. “Tangent” is perhaps unforgiving; Guinn’s own conclusion puts it beautifully:
The unsettling 1960s didn’t create Charlie, but they made it possible for him to bloom in full, malignant flower. In every sense, one theme runs through and defines his life: Charlie Manson was always the wrong man in the right place at the right time.
I found all but the last few chapters unputdownable. There are parts where proceedings get a little hard to follow, but Manson is impressively comprehensive.
Lastly, a note on style: I quite enjoyed Guinn’s dry sense of humour. He strikes the perfect tone, highlighting the ridiculousness of human behaviour without dismissing or caricaturing it. One gets the sense that all Guinn’s subjects have been treated fairly, and so have his readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault